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Watch for Personal Bias

As marketers, we’re constantly building, tweaking and adapting our marketing plans in an effort to maximize the return on our marketing investment. In doing so, we have to make judgments about which tactics will be most effective. And that’s where, if you’re not careful, mistakes can be made.

One of the most common mistakes I see marketers make is to forget a simple truth that should be obvious. That truth is this: You are not your audience. It’s the same mistake that causes us to buy birthday gifts for our friends that are actually something we’d like, rather than something he or she would enjoy.

You are not your audience. It seems obvious, but forgetting it can have profound implications. Just because you personally don’t respond to direct mail, watch Channel 8 News or like the color red doesn’t mean that’s not the right solution to your marketing challenges. Learning what personal biases you may have is important when designed a campaign meant to influence other people.

So, trust your audience, trust past results and trust the numbers… they won’t lead you astray nearly as often as your hidden, personal biases.